Good Intentions

After the maid told me that the prince wished to meet me, I entered the dimension where the rolls of fabric hung from the wall.

I whirled my magic scepter and transformed a piece of fabric into a plain pink dress.

“Hold on,” I said, putting on each piece of the outfit.

I opened the door, and there was a man with messy, purple hair, wearing an unironed white shirt and black slacks. Of course, I knew it was Cassius, but I had to squint a couple of times.

“Your Highness?” I asked.

What happened to him? Bad hair day? Those wrinkled clothes aren't a good look.

“Yes, dear Janessa.”

“Are you alright?!”

“Of course… I am dressed like this on purpose,” he said.

“I can help you dress…. I mean, choose a better outfit for you!” I said in a loud voice.

That first part sounded kinda wrong.

“Shush. Visiting the witches is considered a vile act according to most. We will dress in plain clothes when paying them a visit.”

“Oh? Alright, Your Highness.”

It looks like I'm overdressed.

“Another thing. You must call me by a common name during our visit. Anything but Prince and Your Highness.”

I can finally call him just by his name.

“Oh, okay. Good!”

“Have you packed everything you need?”

“Yes.”

It’s not like I’ve got much to pack.

“Well, then. Let us start.”

The two of us left the hallway and walked along the pavement where flower beds were sprouting with shoots and white flora. We crossed the street, and Cassius entered the library. I followed after him.

The room in the library was decorated with small sculptures and vases with fresh flowers. There was a man who sat behind the desk, reading a book. He had long hair tied back and glasses on his nose bridge.

“The library? I thought we were…” I said.

“Shush…” said Cassius, putting his finger on my lips.

Okay, fine. This is a top secret mission, I get it.

The man glared at us and then started reading again.

Cassius held my hand, and we tiptoed to the farthest bookshelf.

He raised a skull from it, and the whole bookshelf rotated, revealing a passageway.

“Oh, my…” I said.

Cassius clicked his tongue. I quieted down at once and nodded.

We entered as Cassius pointed a flash of light from what looked like a silver cell phone with gems for buttons.

Are there phones in this world?! I mustn’t shout…

After this, the bookshelf rotated back into its original place, and everything was pitch dark.

The prince said, “Hold my hand.”

His slender hand was warm as we walked through the shadows. I could see the sunshine flowing through the end of the tunnel. I nearly tripped on something, and Cassius held on.

"Are you alright?" he whispered.

"Yes."

After a minute, we reached the end of the tunnel. There was a brown horse, saddled and held by a young man. 

“Your Highness, the horse is ready.”

“Thank you, Jim.”

Jim had auburn hair, dressed in a tunic and pants made of rough fabric, and had a crooked smile.

“The pleasure is mine. Please return by sundown. I hear the hunters are back,” said Jim.

“The witch hunters?” said Cassius, clicking his tongue.

He placed his hand on his chin.

“Not much we can do, Prince Cassius. Stay safe.”

He nodded and got on the horse.

“Get on,” said Cassius.

I rose and sat sideways, gripping his back. He shook the reins, and the horse began to walk, followed by a trot.

I watched as the scenery changed from the view of the castle to a clump of trees. Stiff yet drifting, white clouds soon covered the sun. A few people walked by. Some held buckets of water, and others passed by with cars and motorbikes.

Why are we still traveling on horseback? It must be a royal thing.

We slowed down as we entered a forest with a thick canopy. From afar, a column of smoke spouted out.

“Get down," said Cassius.

“Alright, Pri… Cass.”

“Cass? No one ever called me that before.”

“There’s a first time for everything, dear Cass.”

I giggled, and he smiled at me.

I jumped down, and Cassius did the same. As soon as he tied the horse to a tree, it began munching on grass.

The sound of soft music flowed, along with words I couldn’t understand. The birds sprang from branch to branch, and there was the clamour of chimes.

I looked in the direction of the music, and Cassius held my hand.

“They are celebrating something,” he said.

We walked inside and saw three women in black dresses, with pointed hats, and they were mixing something in a huge cauldron.

“A human is here!” cried a pink-haired witch.

She had her hair in two braids, wore round glasses, and wore a plain black dress covered in rhinestones. Her pointed hat was a bit crooked.

“I will take care of him,” said a lavender-bobbed one, rolling up her sleeves.

Her hair was a far lighter shade than that of the prince. Her hair was cropped, and her black dress was short as well, with no sleeves. The hat was not big enough for her head.

“Ah, it is Prince Cassius. Sorry, let him in, Amaranth,” said a blue-haired witch.

This witch had fluffy, light blue hair and had a heart-shaped mark on her cheek.

“Why, Azalea?” said the braided girl.

“He respects us and pays us well for our fortunes.”

“Hmm…”

“Sorry, Prince, come in,” said Azalea.

“Pardon me, but we could hear you perfectly,” said Cassius.

Amaranth rolled her eyes with her hand on her hip.

“What brings you here?” said the purple-haired witch.

“Ah, look behind him! He has brought a witch with him,” said Azalea.

She jumped up and down.

“Wonderful!” said Amaranth.

“Great!” said the purple-haired witch.

Cassius gripped my arm as Azalea danced around us.

“What is your name? Do you know any spells? I can mentor you!” said Azalea.

“Azalea, she is not a witch.”

“What?!”

He wrapped his arms around me and said, “What makes you think she is a witch?”

“Why? What is wrong with witches?”

“Cass. Am I a witch in this world?!” I asked.

He whispered in my ear, “Silence. I do not want to lose you to the witch hunters.”

“Ah…” I said.

“He does not respect us, after all,” said Amaranth, walking off.

“Sorry, it is about her safety.”

“Well, it looks like you have found your match!” said Azalea.

She whispered to me, “If he ditches you, you can always join us for witchcraft.”

“Uh… sure!”

We sat in a circle as I leaned on Cassius’s arm.

“What brings you here? My name is Carnation. They are Amaranth and Azalea,” said the witch with the purple hair.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Janessa.”

Cassius cleared his throat.

“Dear Janessa, when I was first matched with Edith from a neighboring kingdom, I could not stand her upon first meeting. I am not sure of what kind of person she is, but we are more like oil and water. I simply did not know what to do. I wandered into the forest while contemplating, which is when I came across these three witches. They told me that their fortune-telling is of great value, which is why I agreed to it. They told me that there is someone else who is suffering in a different place, and that her suffering will end once she sees me.”

I listened with wide eyes, and as soon as they met Cassius’s eyes, I closed mine and smiled. Tucking my hair behind my ear, I looked at him once again.

Leaves trailed in the soft winds and blew through my hair.

“Cass, that really is true.”

“Really? Has your suffering ended already?” he asked.

“I’m not sure about that, but it has become unnoticeable.”

“Same thing, Janessa.”

I pouted and crossed my arms.

“It’s not the same at all.”

“I see…”

“But Cassius, what will become of Edith?” I asked.

“Oh, I have already prepared a rejection letter. Our families are still communicating, but nothing is completely finalized.”

I clasped my hands together.

“Ah, that’s good!”

I smiled and touched his hair. Cassius touched my hand and caressed it.

“Alright, that is quite awkward already. Please let us celebrate the blessed festivities in peace,” said Amaranth.

“Amaranth, they are lovers; it is normal.”

“Oh? Lovers, you say? Let us have a romance reading, then,” she said, reaching inside her pocket.

“It took you forever to realize that, Amaranth!” said the third witch.

“Forgive me, Carnation. I already knew, though.”

She giggled in a sharp and loud tone, and the other two joined her.

Amaranth laid a blanket down, shuffled red cards quickly, and placed them face down, in a clockwise motion.

Light flowed from each card.

After flipping them, she narrated, “Although your meeting began in nature and in peace, you will come across damages that are not easy to heal. One day, both of you will stop focusing on each other’s beauty and will learn to know one another from your inner hearts.”

“Damages?! What sort of damages?” he exclaimed.

He clung to my arm as my head rested below his chin. I swallowed hard.

It’s true. All I have been doing is focusing on how handsome Cass is. Or how big the castle he lives in is. I still don’t have enough idea about his heart.

“I have no idea. Well, you should pay now,” said Amaranth.

“Here.”

She grinned as she saw the three golden coins.

“Thank you, please come again!” she said.

“Alright,” he said.

Cassius stood up at once, and then he helped me up.

“Thank you, it’s best that we leave,” he said.

“Goodbye!” they said in unison.

We walked out of the forest, and I got on the horse before he did. The horse began walking.

The trees were surrounded by toadstools, and there was a tiny pond where a spring of water cascaded down. As soon as we passed the pond and found ourselves near the main street, I sighed a breath of relief.

At least history didn't repeat itself.

Cassius held onto my back, but sat with a gap between us.

"The weather is pleasant today, is it not?" said Cassius.

"It sure is."

“Uh, Janessa, may I have a kiss?”

My heartbeat accelerated, and my body froze.

"Is everything alright? If it is a no, I completely understand," he said.

What does he see in me? Maybe he's just attracted to me. Still, I can't lose this chance.

“Ah, certainly you can kiss me! But how?” I asked.

“You should turn around.”

I tried turning around, but my neck failed me.

“It’s not so easy! I’m not an owl. I can't rotate my head 360 degrees,” I said.

“True. You are more of a tiger.”

“I’m a what?”

Ah, it’s too bad… maybe some other time. I lost my one-in-a-lifetime chance to kiss a prince. More importantly, I lost a chance to kiss Cassius. He seems sweet at first, but is quite mysterious… Maybe I simply don't deserve it.

“Well, I suppose I have no other choice,” he said.

What is he talking about?!

He moved my hair aside and planted a kiss on my neck. The feeling nearly drove me to fall off the horse.

“Janessa! Be stable. Why are you falling off?” he asked.

“Forgive me, Cass. I’ve been dreaming of your touch ever since the day I met you.”

He laughed and said, “How desperate of you.”

“It seems too good to be true.”

“I must have a special touch, then.”

I looked up and behind me and saw that he smirked.

“No…”

“No?”

“It wasn’t the touch that was special. It was you!”

He blushed while looking at me. 

After quite a long pause, he said, "Sorry, I am merely speechless."

"Yeah, I was wondering why you fell silent."

I bit my lip and looked into the rolling hills in the distance.

We rode off until we reached the castle, when Cassius told me to get off, lest there be someone spying on us.

We left via the library, where the guy from before was fast asleep.

We exchanged looks and struggled to stifle our laughter.

“Goodbye,” I said.

“Goodbye, my love,” he said.

I left in the direction of my room. In front of my door, there was Princess Amelia. I swallowed hard at once.

What’s she doing here?

“Janessa, what intentions do you have with my brother?” she asked.

“None of which are bad…”

“Is that so? If you wish to be near the royal family, you must prove yourself to me.”

I exhaled loudly.

“Fine.”

“Fine? You must present yourself in front of the royal family and see if anyone approves of you,” she said, and left.

“Alright, thank you for the chance,” I said, curtseying.

She walked away, so I entered my room. I touched my neck and grinned as my heartbeat rate increased.